The New Development Bank, launched by Brics countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – will increase its lending capacity to $2.5 billion (approximately Rs 16,678 crore) by 2017, the bank's president K V Kamath (pictured above) said on Sunday. According to a Reuters report, the Shanghai-based bank approved its first loans towards the development of environment-friendly projects.
Kamath made the announcement while speaking on the sidelines of the Brics summit in Goa. The bank was formed in July 2014 with a capital of $100 billion (approximately Rs 6.7 lakh crore), and transformed into a lender within a year.
Kamath said, "The second year is scaling up, concentrating on people, getting all the skill sets in." He said the bank aims to mobilise funds in the member nations' markets. The NDB also aims to decrease the borrowing cost for Brics nations by incorporating borrowings in local currency, he added. “In the coming year, we plan to approach local bond market in India, maybe via offshore route and thereafter seek to approach other such markets in our other member countries," Kamath said.
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